Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-03-18

AMl ISt W. 49,
march
vothe rol of the muffied drum.
vanwjll please to write. MS our epitaph:
Here's II boy that carried a gun"
h. JOINS, Mich. -
One of Ny Own Escapes.
w,s in the last week of May, 1868, tina
,saiment found itself back of BrasLea
: IN Western Louisiana. We proceeded
y, washed in the bay, and then pitched
tsamn out on the fiat OF the old planta,
| lands. and hoped for a rest. The
bther was of that oven-like quality nat.
In the l.,titude and season. We wer,
Lry and foo;sore from long marching
really should not have felt MORALLY
nlted if the, much starred people up the
sr had forgotten all about us for awhile
lleft us TO loaf at Brashear.
yeryfcw words will describe the stu.
In. After the fight at Bisland,
another by Growers division at Ir.sl
Nd. further up country, the army Was pu,
a forced march, which it kept up te
fmlionville, whers our regiment vas de.
he'd TO guard q large number of prison.
hck TO Franklin, and to collect all the
cattle and horses in the country, and
yp them down to Brashear. For about
weeks We had been engaged in these
les. The army, meanwhile, had pushed
10 Alexandria, on the Red River, thence
ned sou,horly, marched to the Atchafa.
a and Mississippi, and uniting with Au-
Is division from Baton Rouge, had be.
the investment of Port Hudson. Al
+ point on Il march down we had hearG
booming Of heavy guns across the
amps and forests to the east, and the
Ind warned us, even in the absence OF
Ter intelligence. that the great struggle
the Lower Mississippi had begun.
Only day or two were we permitted tc
BIT the mosquitoes and sand flies ut Bra.
Em. We were reached" by telegraph
New Orleans, and ordered to the lines
Port Hudson forthwith.
inapsacks, baggage, everything supertlu.
|, was left here under guard, and never
We see our effects again. A successful
of the Confederates a month later
e them the p%roprietors of all our prop.
Etncluding at least one million dol.
worth of arms, munitions, and stores
al kinds leA here.
Dna long train of platform cars, with
and drums playing and banner dis
yed, We Stated for Algiers, passing
fough the country known in the dolefuI
lody as the Louisiana low lands, low
living about the middle of the afternoon,
eat news awaited us here. Two days be.
our lines had made a general attack
wing the enemy from their outrosts anG
their line of Notifications. The fight.
had been severe, and many were killed
wounded.
n the midst Of q drenching rain we wore
nsferred with the Ninetieth New York
the steamer Cahawba, and literally
Tded the vessel from stem TO stern. All
Ut We stemmed the broad current Of
great river, passing Donaldsville anG
Pqaemine. rayaged with shell: and about
VI Inc engines were stopped off Bator
ase, and the shore hailed.
lalloa.-what's going on above?"
Fighting, l reckon, By the noise. Artil.
pretty much all the time"
ANY news come DOWN."
No-not ing but lots of wounded or
hospital boats"
n We steamed past Prophets Island.
Tue low, sandy sp t at the end of which
ozeh Of the soldiers at the bow opened
on a huge alligator, not less thar
I'VE ieet long, as ne lay summing him.
!. Inc bullets ratified harmlessly against
aIiiored sides IS he leisurely waddled
the river.
fpflnsfeld Landing. Banks base of sup.
way about six mi es below the lower
as,llS OF our investing lines, us the
4 ran; by the road it was double that
LIVER has a low bank here. about tel
nInSn. Ihere ia, or was, q large growth
nnlo%S, and here We found all the busy
ues mat always attend the base OF ar
a great Structure of hard-t.cl
N.Y. oacon-casks, and coffee bags had
sea.ed to the proportions of q New
E,l;ao "afn, and was still growing as the
p f Kept coming up. Fixed ammuni.
10 't muskets and cannon was there il
lss quantities, wagons, ambulances
Fso qoaftermasters, and co~mmissaries
M VI lonr companies to guard, and 6
rss 'e ~ hoating the yellow flag, where
bnco "SuAAocu ASs Qo Q0nC wa
E, 1sv, md our Colonel wisely decided to
rone our march till sunset. The roat
s; u VIDE sweep back into the country
4 rs, trough woods much of the way
6t 'A1S Tue poorest kind Of dwellings, II
en- an imply wagons coming down, ant
(sina nasons going up; the flashing ant
fvir Wis., VI te1r;I tory mules; the ambul ,ncel
kSe ~ t., aosn to the Landing more vic,iml
EulI .a'e tight; now and then a noise Xix.
d ,hl thunder-peal from aboye-thes,
wa ue sights and sounds that ATTENDED
bpr~ 10 our lines around Port Hudson
kof Ih;;lonel, ever thoughtful of the com.
4 ,ha nls command, halted US when abou
(tbern way n"d been passed, and brillian
nn;a, stars We're out in the sky. TIL,
[s sue" i will hold out until morning.
6i,'h, ne said, dryly. swell rest her,
4 s s,a ,nd 80 in fresh to-morrow." ARM
ks wed blankets, canteenS and hayer
he'd sung. coffee was boiled, and con
him. sa'a bareback and bacon-an,
tLssn tastes better to a hungry soldier
)u tieId We olyouncked in peace in a,
bud sla., With my Comrades, 1 slept tn,
he. b;"o OF them long before daylight
(nbers mad happened to disturb GU
.a a az osat to the comments of t,s me,